Office-desk



P. F. PURCELL.

OFFICE DESK.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 19I6- Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

INVENTOR Brink/ [Purcell- BV a ATTORNEY I PATRICK F. PURCELL, OFSEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

orrIoE-nnsm.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

Application filed November 29, 1916. Serial No. 134,239.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK, F. PURCELL, citizen of the United States,residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of *ashington, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Ofiice-Desks, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in 'oflice desks, and the object ofmy improvement is to provide an ofiice desk which shall embody a tableboard and a safe,'which table board shall be detachably associated withsaid safe in such manner as to. produce a unitary structure that shallbe adapted to serve as a combined ofii'ce desk and safe, whereby suchunitary structure may occupy no greater portion of the fioor space of aroom than would a separate oflice desk of like capacity.

I accomplish this object by devices illustrated in the accompanying,drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a View in'perspective of a structureembodying one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, on anenlarged scale, showing parts of the same in vertical section on brokenline, 2, 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of the under side of the desktable that constitutes the top portion of the structure of Fig. 1; andFig. 4 is a view in 'front elevation on a reduced scale show-- ing amodified form of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference numeralsindicate like parts, two safes 5 and 6, of like dimensions and ofconnnon form, are disposed at a distance apart with the surfaces oftheir front sides in the same vertical plane,

Disposed on the top sides of the safes 5 and 6 to extend over the spacetherebetween is a rectangular plate 7, of suitable material as metal,vulcanized wood fiber, or wood, which plate 7 is provided withdownwardly turned flanges 8 that are integral with its opposite end edgeportions and with its opposite side edge portions. 7

As shown more clearlyin Fig.3, secured to the under surface of the"plate 7 are brackets made of bars of angle iron, as brackets 9, 10, 11,12,13 andl f, of which the brackets 9 and 12 are provided with clampingscrews 15, and are disposed each adjacent to and parallel with therespective opposite flanges 8 of the end edge portions of the plate 7. fa

The brackets 10 and 11 are disposed to be parallel with the brack 9 and12 and at such equal distances therefrom, respectively, that thedistance between the brackets 9 and 10- and the distance between thebrackets 11 and 12 shall be a little greater than the dis 'tance betweenthe opposite vertical sides of respective ones of the safes 5 and 6while the distance between the brackets 10 and 11 is a little less thanthe distance. between said safes '5 and 6. k I

The plate 7 is disposed on the top sides of the safes 5 and 6 to extendover the space therebetween so that the; inner side surface of thebracket 9 is adjacent to the upper edge portion of one vertical sidesurface of the safe 5 and the inner side surface of the tion of theopposite vertical side su ace of said safe 5, while the inner sidesurfacespf the brackets 11 and 12 are disposed in alike manner withrespect to the safe 6.

To the surfaces of the brackets 9, 10, 11

v bracket 10 is adjacent to the upper ed e porand 12, which engage withthe edge por-- tions of the safes 5 and 6, are secured strlps of softpacking, as strips 16 and 17 shown in F ig. 2.

Disposed between the point of each of the clamping screws 15 of thebracket 9 and the upper edge portion of the adjacent side of the safe 5,and between the point of each of the clamping screws 15 of the bracket12 and the upper edge portion of adjacent side of the safe 6, is aclamping disk, like the clamping disk 18 shown in Fig. 2,- which may beforced against said upper-edge por-' tion of the side of the adjacentsafe by turning its clamping screw 15 in an obvious manner rigidly toclamp the plate 7 in its horizoigltal position on the 'tops of the safes5 an 6.

On the top surface. of the plate 7 'is disposed a table board 19 which'covers the entire area of said plate 7 and which is maintained in itsposition by cleats 20 which are fastened to the outer side surfaces ofthe flanges 8 by screws 21 to project upwardly higher than the surfaceof said plate 7, and which table board '19, thus disposed serves as anoffice desk that is so associated with the safes 5 and 6 that .a personusing said desk can gain access to said safes 5'and 6 without'arisingfrom his chain The brackets 13 and 14 on the underside I of the plate7-, as shown in Fig. 3,. are disposed to extend between the brackets 10vand 11- in lines adjacent to andparallel with the flanges 8 on the frontand the back ed z e portions irespectiyely ofthe plate 7, and, as

shown more clearly in Fig. 2, to the rearward bracket 14;. is fastenedthe upper edge cated in Fig. 1. I

portion of a back board which extends downward to the bottom of thesafes and 6. F astened to the opposite faces of the brackets and 11 aresupports for a drawer 23 li k e' the supportQt which is shown in Fig. 2as fastened to the bracketlO; and to the frontw ard bracket 14 isfastened a strip which engages with the top edge of the front wall of:the drawer 23 when said drawer 23 is in its closed position, as indi-Thus, the safes 5 and 6 serve as supporting, legs. for the desk portionthat is detachably associated therewith, but it is obvious thatanyboxlike cabinet structure adapted to serve as office furnlture may besubstituted for the safes 5 and 6.

In Fig.- 4, I have shown an office desk combined with asingle ofiicesafe 26, which office desk comprises a table board 27, cor-- respondingto the table board l9 of Fig. 1,

which is confined by strips, like strip 28 to a plate, not shown, whichcorresponds to the plate 7 except with respect to its lengtlnand to theunderside of said plate, not shown, are

; brackets, not shown, which correspond to brackets 9 and 10 of Fig. 8and which serve to clamp said plate to the top of the safe 26.

Instead of another safe corresponding to thesafe 6 of Fig. l, thestructure of Fig. 4

issprovided w th supporting =legs, like the" leg 29, and disposed toextend between the legs,. andgthe fafe26 is'a drawer 30, correspondingto the drawer 23 of Fig.- 1-, which drawer 30 is slid-ably associatedwitlrthe underside, of the plate corresponding to the plate .7 in thesame manner that said drawer 23 is associated withs'aid plate 7.

- Thus. in the. structure of Fig. 4, the safe 26 is' detachablyassociated with atable-like oflic el esk in" such-manner that saidstructure more space of an ofice than would an ordinary table-likeofiice desk of like dimensions with which no safe is associatedf I v@bviously, desk like portions of the strucforms, dimensions andarrangement of parts I of myinvention without departing from the spiritthereof. 1

.VVhat I claim is: r

' The combination with a support, of a removable top therefor includinga metal'plate having peripheral depending flangesat its sides and;ends,.an angle bar secured by one flange to the under side of sa id'plateadjacent each end thereof, means extending through the free 'flange ofeach bar and engaging the support to removably retain said platethereto, draw guides and retainers secured, to theunder side of saidplate, a table top mounted upon the upper side of said plate, and cleatsremovably secured to the outer face of the depending side and endflanges of said plate and engaging the peripheral edge of-the top toretain the latter rig d upon the plate.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 22nd day ofNoyember, A; D.

" PATRICK F. PURCELL.

Witnesses FRANK. WARREN, GEO. BLAIR.

